A suspect in a murder case turned himself into police after the victim of an alleged fight passed away at Akron General Medical Center following months of being in a coma.
Akron resident Kenneth B. Jackson, Jr., 30, of Madison Avenue has been charged with felonious assault and murder following an alleged incident in July that left Charles Murry, 40, also of Madison Avenue, in a “permanent, vegetative state.” He died in September.
Jackson is scheduled to be arraigned at 10 a.m. Friday in Akron Municipal Court.
Police said Murray’s family notified authorities two days after the alleged incident in July.
Authorities say detectives received conflicting statements from eye witnesses indicating that Jackson could have suffered his injuries in a fall.
“From our detectives’ standpoint, they had to determine what really happened,” said Akron police spokesman Rick Edwards.
Edwards said an investigation and an autopsy report led police to charge Jackson with striking Murry “in the face with an open hand.”
A police report said Murry was knocked to the ground and suffered a severe brain injury that led to a coma.
Bernice Murry said police dismissed a version of the events that had her brother falling off the porch of a Madison Avenue home after drinking too much.
“He wouldn’t get drunk to the point that he’s cracking something or something major is going on,” she said.
She said her brother had been bullied in the days leading up to assault.
“My brother did not deserve this,” she said. “He was sitting on [a] porch like he [did] every day.”
Bernice Murry said the family is upset that no one immediately called for help for her injured brother.
“To make it plain and simple, my brother was gone long before the paramedics got there,” she said. “My brother was a fighter. He was so funny. He was a happy person.”
Doug Livingston can be reached at 330-996-3792 or dlivingston@thebeaconjournal.com.